Issues

Limited Government Conservative

Ronald Reagan once said “Two things can never be compromised – our freedom and our future.”

My fundamental belief is that we can create the most freedom, most prosperity, and most opportunity for our nation by limiting the power and scope of the federal government. As your Representative, I work every day to ensure I am living up to that standard.

Applying these principles to the federal government means I am constantly fighting for:

Less Spending – because we cannot bankrupt our future
generations;

Less Taxes – because Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem;
and

Less Regulations – because our businesses cannot be competitive and help our economy grow
when they are being held down by mountains of bureaucratic red tape.

Passing a Balanced Budget Amendment

Only in Washington is having a balanced budget a novel concept. Our families do it. Small businesses do it. And the State of Texas does it.

It is way past time for Congress to pass an Amendment requiring the federal government to have a balanced budget just like the rest of us do in our daily lives. I will continue to vote in favor of a Balanced Budget Amendment and hope that we will one day have a Senate and a President who agree – it is time for a Balanced Budget Amendment for the federal government.

Job Growth for America

With millions of Americans either underemployed or out of work, a principal focus of our government needs to be helping to get the economy moving again.

That means creating the environment under which businesses can feel confident to reinvest, expand, and hire new workers. Only private sector job growth can help stabilize our nation’s economy and create new opportunities for our families.

No government “stimulus spending” will establish the foundation we need for true growth. Rather, we need to empower small businesses and give them greater certainty about the future by:

Eliminating overreaching government regulations and mandates – LIKE OBAMACARE;

Lowering individual tax rates so our families can keep more of what they earn and be able to
manage the planning for their own futures rather than relying on the government;

Lowering corporate tax rates and leaving them in place so our businesses can be more
competitive in a global economy and make plans for reinvestment; and

Promoting American energy dominance by being the global energy leader.

We have passed dozens of bills to help in these three key areas – as yet, the Senate has refused to act in a responsible manner to help our businesses and our families overcome the economic challenges we are facing.

Leading an American Energy Revolution

If we don’t control the vast majority of our own energy supply, we don’t control our own future. Whether it is economic security or national security, creating reliable and dedicated sources of AMERICAN energy is truly a critical national priority.

Technology innovation has helped America become a global leader in energy production once again, but to capitalize on our opportunity we have already started our work by repealing burdensome and unnecessary regulations on American energy production such as the Obama Ozone Standards Rule, Stream Protections regulations, and Dodd-Frank regulations on the energy industry.

Under President Obama the EPA was out-of-control. Under conservative leadership in 2017, we passed the HONEST Act which requires the EPA to enact regulations only when publicly available scientific data exists.

We are working to ensure that our energy infrastructure is modernized and capacity is available to deliver America’s new energy supply to the world. I will always be committed to working every moment to continue the American energy revolution!

Staying on Offense Against Terrorism and Hostile Regime’s

Preserving America’s freedom and way of life is not just a campaign talking point. I took the Oath of Office to “Preserve, Protect, and Defend the Constitution” and those words instilled a deep sense of responsibility in me.

As a former Navy pilot and action officer to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I know first hand that we still live in a dangerous world where countries and state-sponsored terrorist organizations are focused on destroying America and harming innocent civilians. This is a war we did not ask for,
did not provoke, but one we must win.

The brave men and women who serve on the front lines in our Armed Forces, intelligence services, and their families are true American heroes. I am committed to making sure they have the resources they need, the manpower necessary to win, and a Congressman who will support their mission to kill or capture terrorists wherever they may be hiding, training, or plotting attacks.

Under the failures in Hillary Clinton’s State Department, tensions with Russia grew to near Cold War levels as they opposed Western efforts to fight ISIS, take down Assad in Syria, and the Administration did nothing as Putin invaded the Ukraine.

Fortunately, we have new leadership in the White House that understands how important America’s role in the world must be if we are going to prevent terrorism and hostile regime’s from endangering American lives.

Stopping Illegal Immigration and Putting an End to Sanctuary Cities

If you don’t know who is coming into your country, how can you know they don’t intend to do you harm?

Under the Obama Administration Sanctuary Cities were allowed to attract and shelter illegal aliens in America. Criminal aliens returned again and again and again.

Drugs trafficking, human smugglers, and murders are coming across our border and that is simply not acceptable. As the most powerful nation on earth, we must defend ourselves. That is why I support the President’s plan to build a wall on our southern border.

We must also step up enforcement in the vast interior portion of our country. Houston and the surrounding areas have seen the violence on our streets brought by criminal illegal aliens. We shouldn’t have gun battles in our neighborhoods between these gangs and police officers being shot by criminal illegal immigrants.

NASA

Growing up in the Clear Lake Area, I dreamed of flying, becoming an astronaut, marveled at the history-making accomplishments of the human-space program and admired the brilliant, dedicated minds who propelled NASA forward. It is a vast understatement to say that the missions, innovations, and discoveries of NASA have made our lives easier, led to countless commercial inventions, and inspired generations of young men and women.

After 30 years of service, the retirement of the Space Shuttle, a lack of determination has created serious challenges for NASA and human-space exploration.

I believe that we must empower NASA and our human-space programs with a defined mission: returning to the moon and reaching Mars.

Since my first term in Congress, I have fought constantly for clarity, support, and full funding for a mission-specific agenda. It is time we give NASA’s human-space program another lofty goal to achieve and ensure they have the budget necessary to be successful.

Respecting the Sanctity of Life

I am pro-life.

I believe that life begins at conception and every life has a soul. Abortion as a means of birth control horrifies every fiber of my being. Our country should work to protect innocent life and I will vote that way in Congress as I did this year when I supported the defunding of Planned Parenthood. In the case of a mother’s life being in danger I would understand abortion being necessary.

Protecting the Second Amendment

The right to bear arms is a vital element of our Constitution. As a gun owner and a member of the National Rifle Association, I always vote to protect our Second Amendment rights.

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